Here
are a few of the insects that we have observed at the Purple loosestrife biocontrol treatment
sites:
Ants
and aphids gather on the leaf of a Trembling aspen (hybrid?) tree that
grows alongside the wetlands in Fowl Meadow. The ants feed on the honeydew that the aphids
secrete and also protect the aphids from danger.
A
dragonfly alights on some of last year's growth in the middle of
the
Burma
Rd. footpath at
Fowl Meadow. Did you know that dragonflies
spend the first part of their life as an aquatic insect,
prowling
streambeds for
food?
A
hungry visitor (Disonycha pensylvanica) perches on a
Smartweed (Polygonum sp.) leaf in
August 2008, at a time when
large numbers of these
beetles were
feeding on these plants.
Below is a Smartweed flower:
Beetles
make use of Goldenrod blooms at Brookwood Farm.
A
winged
insect pauses on a wall of Goldenrod.
Here,
Blue
vervain is visited by an insect in addition to
several
other visitors, out of sight.
Can
you see the insect exploring the topography
of a budding Joe-Pye weed?
A
bee harvests pollen from a Joe-Pye weed plant. Note the yellow
masses of
pollen
stored on the bee's legs.
A
bumblebee harvests the now opened blooms of Joe-Pye weed.
A
bee pauses on the leaf of a Joe-Pye weed after a morning
rainstorm.
A
butterfly visits Joe-Pye weed at Brookwood Farm.
A
butterfly feeds on a Chicory flower at the edge of the
Fowl
Meadow wetland.
A
bumblebee harvests Swamp milkweed at Fowl Meadow.
Both
a bumblebee and a Honeybee share Swamp milkweed!
A
honeybee harvests Swamp milkweed flowers.
Another
winged visitor -
A
butterfly pauses on the leaf of a young willow tree,
bordering wetlands at Fowl Meadow.
A
Ladybug clambers down a plant.
A
spider hunkers down within a Bindweed bloom at Fowl Meadow.
A
winged insect hovers by a fruiting and flowering Pokeweed
plant that borders the wetland at Brookwood Farm.
A
bumblebee
visits a thistle plant.
A
Swallowtail butterfly makes use of a spire
of Purple loosestrife
flowers. Once
the Galerucella beetles have done their job for the
season,
feeding
on the Purple loosestrife plants, and the wetlands are
less dominated
by
Purple loosestrife, over the years other wetland plants will have the
opportunity to grow strong
and to flower, and insects
will have a variety of
nectar and pollen sources to choose
from besides
Purple loosestrife --
for
example a variety of species of Milkweeds, Asters,
Goldenrods, Spiraeas,
Viburnums,
Dogwoods, Eupatoriums, Northern blue flag iris, Swamp
rose,
and
Blue vervain, among others shown on this webpage, and more.
Read
an introduction to the wetland restoration project.
This
project was made possible through the support of the
Wildlife Habitat Incentives Program of the Natural Resources
Conservation Service, the Corporate Wetlands Restoration
Partnership, the MA DCR, OPPP, the NLT Foundation, the
William P. Wharton Trust, and The Norcross Wildlife
Foundation, Inc.
August
2009
